Chapter Text
Lightning filled the night sky, startling Tommy awake. Quietly, he pulled the covers over his head, ignoring the light that flashed in the sky. He didn’t like thunderstorms, he hated them actually. He loathed the way that the thunder boomed from out of nowhere, startling the young boy no matter how prepared he thought he was. He despised how the sound shook the house, how it made the small trinkets that he collected and stored on his shelf rattle, teetering on edge. He disliked how fucking loud it was. There was no reason for thunder to be so fucking loud. And the lightning? Prime, it made Tommy want to rip his eyes out.
Whatever god or goddess or immortal fuck decided to create thunderstorms was an evil, evil being, Tommy decided.
Tommy flinched as the house shook, not being quick enough to cover his ears in time. He whimpered softly, quickly blinking away tears. He wouldn’t let himself cry over a stupid thunderstorm, he wasn’t a little kid anymore. He was in a nice home now, a really nice home, that at least pretended to love him. He was safe, yet his body shook in fear as more lightning cracked across the sky, filling his room with light.
Slowly he wiped his eyes, refusing to admit that he was crying, because he was a big man, and big men don’t cry. That's what his last home taught him. Tommy’s previous home taught him that he shouldn’t be scared of thunderstorms anymore, that it was childish, and a sixteen-year-old shouldn’t be scared of them. And he wasn’t! Tommy wasn’t scared of thunderstorms! He just really disliked them.
Once his face was clear of any wetness, he sat up, wrapping his blanket tightly around his shoulders. He glanced out the window, finding some resemblance of peace with the soft patter of rain against the glass, how the raindrops raced down it, leaving streaks behind in their wake. The blonde slowly reached out to trace one of the raindrops, smiling slightly. He nearly forgot there was a humdinger of a thunderstorm going on just beyond the glass. Nearly forgot.
Just as the raindrop he was following got to the bottom of the glass, a shriek of thunder filled his ears, causing him to fall back, scrambling to make sure he didn’t fall off his bed. More tears welled in his eyes, as he struggled to take deep breaths, mumbling softly to himself.
“It’s fine, fine, you’re fine, you’re a big man. Biggest man.”
Once he gathered himself, he say up again, still with his blanket securely around his shoulders, silently making his way to his closet. He hated that he felt safe in there, all alone and dark. He hated that he got so used to the tight spaces in other homes, that he needed it for comfort in a good home.
Once Tommy was settled in the corner of the closet, he pulled the door shut, a sigh of relief escaping him as he relaxed more into the darkness. He liked it in here because it blocked out the bright flashes of lightning, and somewhat quieted the blasts of thunder. It wasn’t much, but it was something. That’s all he needed right now.
Of course, his mind had to ruin this sense of peace.
Flashes of pink danced in his memory chills running down his spine. Why was pink fucking hair stuck in his thoughts? He didn’t know anyone with pink hair that he could remember, not from this life anyways.
The realization that he was living a second life didn't take Tommy long to come to.
No, that was a lie. That was a massive fucking lie. It took 4 months and 19 days, as well as far too many dreams of pasts lives, as well as too many late nights doing research.
Realizing that he was once Theseus, someone he learned was loved, cared for, and had a family, that hurt. Having once had something to live for, now he had nothing, passed from family to family with little more than a small bag in hand and a vague memory of a man he could only recognize by the color of his hair.
Tommy couldn’t care, not right now. No, he just needed to survive the foster system.
Then he could find this man in his memories of another life. Surely it won’t be too hard?